This invention relates generally to personal security, and particularly to a portable personal protection device that may be carried to dispense an electrical shock or other electrically generated discharge to an assailant without harming the user.
Personal defense devices have been known for many years and range from simple noise makers to stun guns and devices for spraying mace or other noxious chemicals to disable or discourage an attacker. A stun gun or dispenser of a noxious chemical may be effective in stopping a determined assailant, but conventional devices of this type can also present a danger to the user. For example, a stun gun can easily be taken from a user by a skilled martial artist or determined assailant, especially someone high on drugs or suffering from other emotional disturbance. Since most attacks are carried out with little warning, it may not be possible for the victim to use a personal defense device under such conditions.
Some attempts have been made to develop personal defense devices, which possess more than one form of protection (i.e., they will emit an audible alarm and also discharge a noxious chemical or provide a disabling charge of electricity). Other devices have provided a light for use as a flashlight. However, these devices do not provide any means to make them difficult to dislodge from a holster or the hand of the user, nor do they have any means to minimize the chance that a child or assailant can discharge a disabling charge of electricity from the device if they should gain access to it. Furthermore, most devices must be turned on in advance of an attack because they are unsafe to transport in the on position, and when used, they are held in an ergonomically weak and inferior manner.
Thus is a need for a personal defense device that is immediately ready and simple and effective to use, and minimizes danger to the user. Further, there is a need for a personal defense device that is not easily dislodged from a holster or the hand of the user and that may be quickly and easily aimed.
In one embodiment, a stun gun system includes a stun gun having a housing with a first end and a second end, and an electronics package for generating a high voltage or other discharge. The first end is configured to form a handle which has a first pair of contacts and the second end has a second pair of contacts. The stun gun system includes a first switch configured in a first position. The electronics package is electronically connected through the switch to the first pair of contacts. Optionally, the stun gun system""s first pair of contacts are compressibly attached to the handle. The stun gun system has a first switch configured in a second position so that the electronics package is electronically connected through the first switch to the second pair of contacts. The stun gun system can have the second pair of contacts that are compressibly attached to the second end of the stun gun. The stun gun system optionally includes a second switch at the first end for testing the battery and electronics package and for warning an attacker when the first switch is in the first position and providing a visible spark across the second pair of contacts. The stun gun system may also include a dart with hypodermic needle positioned between the second pair of contacts.
In another embodiment, the stun gun system also can include a holster formed to receive the stun gun. The holster has a first opening adjacent the first end of the stun gun and a second opening parallel to an axis formed by the first end and the second end of the stun gun. A peg is attached to the holster adjacent to the position of the first switch. The peg places the first switch in the second position when the stun gun is removed from the holster through the second opening. The stun gun system further includes a switch retainer that prevents the first switch from disengaging from the first position. The stun gun system further includes a switch retainer that prevents the first switch from disengaging from the second position.
In another embodiment, the stun gun system has a housing comprising a first face and a second face. The first face accommodates the electronics package and a battery and has a plurality of screw holes for screws that hold down the electronics package and the battery. The second face has a master power switch, a first channel, and a second channel that meet at a meeting place. The meeting place has the first switch, which has a first and a second position; the first position closes an electrical circuit to the first contacts, and the second position closes an electrical circuit to the nose portion. The handle is compressibly attached to the body, and has a handgrip and two side arms. The handgrip portion has at least one exposed, stunnable contact, and is compressible, so as to impart a shock through the stunnable contact when the first switch is in the first position. A nose portion is compressibly attached to the body, and has at least one exposed contact capable of imparting a shock when the nose is compressed and the first switch is in the second position.
In yet another embodiment, a stun gun system includes a first end, second end and an electronics package. The first end is configured to form a handle. The second end is elastically attached to the first end, and forms a cylindrical body extending away from the first end. The second end has a pair of contacts, and conductive strips located along the cylindrical body. The electronics package is for generating a high voltage or other discharge, and is electronically connected to the conductive strips when the second end is pulled away from the first end. Optionally, the stun gun system""s electronics package for generating a high voltage or other discharge is electronically connected to the pair of contacts when the second end is compressed toward the first end. The stun gun system further includes a button at the first end for testing the battery and the electronics package and for warning an attacker when the switch is in the second position and for providing a visible spark across the pair of contacts.
In another embodiment, a stun gun system includes a stun gun having a housing with a first end and a second end. The first end forming a handle to accommodate a hand of a user, the handle having a first set of electrodes; the second end having a second set of electrodes. It also includes a means for generating high voltage or other discharge and a means for selectively applying the high voltage or other discharge between the first or second set of electrodes. It also includes a means for triggering and disabling the first and second set of electrodes and a means for triggering the second set of electrodes when the user pulls the device from the user""s holster. The stun gun system optionally includes means for triggering the first set of electrodes when the device is improperly pulled from the user""s holster. The stun gun system optionally includes means for testing the stun gun. The stun gun system optionally includes means for delivering a sedative or other drug. The stun gun system further includes means for holstering the stun gun. The stun gun system""s holstering means can include a means for selectively placing the switch in the first position. The stun gun system""s holstering means may include a means for selectively placing the switch in the second position.
In yet another embodiment, a method for preventing the unauthorized use of a stun gun system includes providing a stun gun with a handle and a nose, a first set of electrodes on the handle, a second set of electrodes on the nose. The system also provides a holster, a first opening in the holster, a second opening in the holster; and provides for securing the stun gun in the holster. Lastly, the system also provides a high voltage or other discharge to the handle, removing the stun gun through the second opening, and delivering the high voltage or other discharge to the second set of electrodes.